Failure strength of thin-walled cylindrical GFRP composite shell against static internal and external pressure for various volumetric fiber fraction

A study on a Circular cylindrical thin-walled shell failure made of GRP composite subjected to static internal and external pressure was carried out. The results were acquired using analytical and FEM simulation approaches for various volumetric fiber fractions. Fiber breakage, matrix breakage, interlaminate shear deformation, delamination shear deformation and micro buckling failure were investigated employing maximum failure criteria against internal and external pressure. One-ply cylindrical shell with fiber angle orientation of 0 degree was modeled in ABAQUS finite element simulation and the result was varied using analytical approaches. Moreover, the pressure fluctuations for various volumetric fiber fraction were quadratic according to plotted graphs. Meanwhile, MATLAB software was used for theoretical analysis. The comparison of two approaches was proved to be accurate. Subsequently, failure strength of various laminated GFRP cylindrical shell with different fiber angle orientations at each ply was studied for diverse volumetric fiber fraction factors. Stacking sequence, fiber angle orientations were mainly effective on failure strength

The economic geography of offshore incorporation in tax havens and offshore financial centres: the case of Chinese MNEs

A large share of the outward foreign direct investment (FDI) of emerging market MNEs is directed towards a small number of specific tax havens and offshore financial centres. The establishment of investment-holding companies for taxation related purposes is frequently adduced as a key motivation (‘round-tripping’) for these investments. This explanation, however, accounts for neither the concentration of such investments in specific havens nor the comparatively large national shares of such investments that originate from emerging markets. Here we draw from and build links between the geography of money and finance and international business literatures to conceptually and empirically explore this prominent, if somewhat disregarded, feature of global FDI flows

The chain rule implies Tsirelson's bound: an approach from generalized mutual information

In order to analyze an information theoretical derivation of Tsirelson's bound based on information causality, we introduce a generalized mutual information (GMI), defined as the optimal coding rate of a channel with classical inputs and general probabilistic outputs. In the case where the outputs are quantum, the GMI coincides with the quantum mutual information. In general, the GMI does not necessarily satisfy the chain rule. We prove that Tsirelson's bound can be derived by imposing the chain rule on the GMI. We formulate a principle, which we call the no-supersignalling condition, which states that the assistance of nonlocal correlations does not increase the capability of classical communication. We prove that this condition is equivalent to the no-signalling condition. As a result, we show that Tsirelson's bound is implied by the nonpositivity of the quantitative difference between information causality and no-supersignalling.Comment: 23 pages, 8 figures, Added Section 2 and Appendix B, result unchanged, Added reference

Effects of physalis alkekengi, aerial parts extracts, on morphine withdrawal syndrome in mice

The effect of Physalis alkekengi aerial part extract on the withdrawal syndrome was determined in mice. After induction of dependency by morphine, mice were intraperitoneally administered different concentrations of Physalis alkekengi extract (dichloromethane, methanol and waterf). Morphine-withdrawal, induced by naloxone, was assessed by recording the incidence of escape jumps for 60 minutes. All the concentrations of the methanol extract produced statistically significant decrease in development of morphine dependence compared to the control group. Aqueous extract also induced jumping decrease in mice of test group at doses 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg. We can therefore suggest this plant using successfully in treatment of addiction

Beneficial effects of whey protein preloads on some cardiovascular diseases risk factors of overweight and obese men are stronger than soy protein preloads - A randomized clinical trial

Background The hypothesis that long term supplemental preloads of whey protein concentrate (WPC) and soy protein isolate (SPI) 30 min before the largest meal, will improve blood pressure (BP), fasting blood sugar (FBS) and lipid profile of overweight and obese men in their in free living condition was tested. Methods Forty - five men of 52, BMI = 25-40 kg/m2, after random allocation in WPC (n = 26) or SPI (n = 19) groups, drank 65 gr WPC or 60 gr SPI dissolved in 500 ml water 30 min before their ad libitum lunch for 12 weeks. Lipid profile and FBS were assessed before and after the study. Systolic and diastolic BP were measured before and after the study and every two weeks. Results After 12 weeks, mean changes between the groups were significant for SBP (p < 0.02), DBP (p = 0.001), apo A-I, apo B (p < 0.001), LDL (p = 0.015), HDL (p = 0.017). Within group mean changes of WPC were significant for reduction of DBP, FBS, apo B, VLDL, LDL, TG (p < 0.001), SBP, TC (p = 0.001), and for increase of apo A-I (p < 0.001) and HDL (p = 0.001) relative to baseline. In SPI group, mean changes were significant relative to baseline for decrease of SBP (p < 0.02), DBP (p = 0.001), apo B (p < 0.001), LDL (p = 0.015) and for increase of apo A-I (p < 0.001) and HDL (p = 0.017). Conclusion According to this study, WPC preloads at 30 min before ad libitum main meal, exert stronger beneficial effects than SPI preloads on BP, FBS and lipid profile of free living overweight and obese men after 12 weeks. Trial registration: Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials: IRCT201109062365N3. © 2015 Published by Elsevier Inc

GIS-Based Method for Finding Optimal Ocean Energy Location: A Case Study of Terengganu State

Ocean energy is one of the most important renewable energy sources and it can highly contribute to the supply of the world’s electricity demands. This paper presents a method of locating the highest potential sources of ocean energy by implementing Geographic Information System (GIS). The aim of this study was to find the optimal wave energy location in the coastal area of Terengganu state in Malaysia. The wave data for the years 2015-2017 have been collected. The GIS was adopted to prepare data for analysis and perform geostatistical analysis. The results showed the exact location of areas in the coastal area of Terengganu in which maximum energy from the ocean can be harvested. The proposed methodology can be applied in other coastal areas

comparison of three adjuvant chemotherapy regimes using an extended log-logistic model in women with operable breast cancer

Objective: The main objective of the present study was to compare the effects of three common chemotherapy regimes in terms of disease-free survival (DFS) of breast cancer (BC) patients; the three explored regimes were taxane-based, anthracycline-based and CMF (cyclophosphamide methotrexate and 5-fluorouracil). Materials and methods: In this historical-cohort study, we obtained the information of 62 patients with confirmed BC in non-metastatic stage and followed them for 8 years. All the patients had undergone modified radical mastectomy surgery and had received adjuvant chemotherapy in three medical centers in Tehran, Iran. DFS was considered as the end-point. Afterwards, an extended log-logistic regression model was used to compare these regimes. Results: The mean (SD) age of patients was 49.0 (10.3) years. The median time of follow-up was 20.0 months and the probability of 5-years DFS was 0.48. Survival analysis indicated that the type of chemotherapy (OR(CMF vs. taxane) = 0.33, OR(anthracycline vs. taxane) = 0.74), grade (OR(III vs. I or II) = 0.35), tumor size (OR(>5cm vs. <5cm)= 0.179) and nodal involvements (OR(Yes vs. No)= 0.36) affected DFS. Conclusion: The current study revealed that the efficacy of taxane-based, in terms of DFS, was more than CMF (p = 0.05). Moreover, taxane-based chemotherapy prolonged DFS more than anthracycline-based one although the difference was not significant (p= 0.63). Finally, considering the importance of tumor size, histological grade and number of involved lymph nodes in lengthening DFS, it is crucial to highlight the role of public education and screening programs in order to detect tumor in its early stages

Association between paraoxonase-1 gene promoter T (-107) C polymorphism and coronary artery disease

Background: Paraoxonase-1(PON1), a high-density lipoprotein (HDL) associated enzyme, is believed to contribute in the pathogenesis of coronary artery disease (CAD). The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of PON1 promoter C (-107)T polymorphism with the extent of coronary artery stenosis in Iranian patients. Methods: The RFLP analysis for determination of the C(-107)T genotype distribution and measurement of serum PON1 activities (Paraoxonase and Arylesterase) were performed in 99 patients. They were undergone coronary angiography to determine the number of stenotic vessels and classified into three groups: single vessel disease (SVD), two vessels disease (2VD) and three vessels disease (3VD). Results: The C(-107)T polymorphism was significantly associated with serum arylesterase activity but not with paraoxonase activity. The CC and TT genotypes distributed inversely in SVD as compared with 3VD group. Moreover, the CC high activity genotype frequency decreased with increase of stenotic vessels in patients. Conclusion: The reduced arylesterase activity as a function from the weak promoter activity increases the stenosis severity, so that, we assume it is one of the progressive factors of atherosclerotic process in stenotic vessels